ABEL SOLUTIONS (NORTHERN) LTD
💤Zombieactive
08268198 · ltd · incorporated 2012-10-25
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2025
Net worth
£54.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Specialised cleaning services
Sector: Administrative & support services
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 81229Other building and industrial cleaning activities
- 81291Disinfecting and exterminating services
- 81299Other cleaning services
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
33 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £54,114
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£54k
↑ 59% YoY
Current Assets
£79k
↑ 78% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-10-31 | 2024-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £56.7k | £39.8k |
| Current assets | £79.1k | £44.3k |
| Net assets | £54.1k | £34.0k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-12-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-09-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-09-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-02-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-06-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-06-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-10-25🏢Company incorporatedAs ABEL SOLUTIONS (NORTHERN) LTD
- 2012-10-25➕LODGE, Eric appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Eric Lodge Individual · British · DOB 03/1959 · age 67 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Trade services · DL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1-3 (GLOBAL)INVESTIGATIONS AND CONSULTANCY LTD→ 13957860 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 44 NORTH LIMITED→ 00029325 · est 1889 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 136y | — | — |
| 5 ACRES CANINE LTD→ 14594238 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 555INC LTD→ 16752211 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A & B INDUSTRIAL CLEANING LIMITED→ 05976687 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| A1 BUILDING & MAINTENANCE LTD→ 12791314 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A1 TANK SERVICES LIMITED→ 06267133 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| A1M LOCKSMITHS LIMITED→ 10231387 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AAA APPLIANCE CARE CENTRE LIMITED→ 08722503 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ABBINGTON BLAKE ASSOCIATES LTD→ 11269521 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ABC AGENCY NE LIMITED→ 16807868 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABI MODEN LIMITED→ 13217236 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →🔒Advanced scoring suite
Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2012-10-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC81222 — Specialised cleaning services
Registered office
Unit 3a East Mount Road
Darlington
DL1 1LA
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-08
Last: 2025-10-25
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Active
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-12-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-09-13
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-06-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-06-22